


The Fall of the Family Ysanis

by cbrachyrhynchos



Series: Atris and the Echani Handmaidens [3]
Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Backstory, Father Death, Gen, Mentor/Protégé, Multiple Perspectives, Not Slash, Post-Ceremonial Duel, Short Story, Sibling Relationship, Sins of the Father, Stand Alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24515998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cbrachyrhynchos/pseuds/cbrachyrhynchos
Summary: The daughters of General Ysanis struggle to survive the political turmoil after the death of their father.
Series: Atris and the Echani Handmaidens [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632982
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	The Fall of the Family Ysanis

## The First

"Father, make me your second."

"No, Erisi," General Yusanis said. "Revan's followers are not merciful in victory, or gracious in defeat."

"I am ready, father."

"I am not. I will never be ready to ask that of my daughters. It is one of my failures as a general." The General opened the case under the mirror and selected a simple broach, a family remembrance bearing six colored pieces of string. It was a gift from the year he first brought their half-sister home. He attached it to his armor instead of any medal or military honor. "And you're not ready either. Sometimes choosing to live is more difficult. When you understand, you will be ready."

"But ..."

"I order you to take care of your sisters, including Brianna, understand? I wear this token for the six of you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father."

He pulled her into an embrace, and she felt the cracks in his heart under his armor.

## The Second

"We need to go! Now!" The Second held open the doorway to the classroom for the three younger sisters. She pressed an energy shield for each of them into their hands as they walked briskly out flanked by Senate security.

"What's going on?" one of the twins asked. "Why are you in armor?"

"Father challenged Revan. We must go to a safehouse," one guard shortened his step a fraction. The other didn't.

"Which one?"

The Second was listening to the steps. Her sisters, frightened, uneven. The older security officer, also nervous. But the younger one ...

The Second's telescoping staff caught him in the chest just as he got his blaster clear. He managed to get one shot off, absorbed by Brianna's shield, before The Second dashed his brains against the floor.

"One that he didn't know about."

## The Third

"Forgive me," The Third whispered then pulled the trigger. A body fell into flowerbed, then the stealth field flickered off. She would have preferred an honorable fight, but their father made enemies who preferred a blade in the dark. She put another bolt into the body in the flowerbed to be sure.

A breeze brought the smell of fire in from the city. "Don't get a big head, father, the entire galaxy's tearing itself apart. You were just kindling." She admired and hated the the General's brutal calculus. Had he succeeded, the Revanchist threat would have been cut off at the head. In failure, he became a martyr for Republic loyalists.

She tapped her communicator, "Southwest corner."

"Got it," said the bodyguard on the other side of the roof. Another shot, another body. The Sith as they now declared themselves, were eager to bag the Yusanis daughters as trophies.

"Corporal, we are surrounded," the security officer said.

The third closed her eyes and rested her cheek on the familiar rifle stock. It served through battles on four different planets, but it wouldn't serve her in the close confines of the safehouse. "Yes."

"Go be with your family."

"Make them work for it," The Third said, a benediction from the war.

"Make them work for it, Corporal."

## The Fourth

Her twin was even more hyper than usual and accidentally put a hole in the ceiling with a blaster rifle. And Brianna had already vomited twice, once at school and once in the car just before they found out that their father ...

Any other day she'd be calming The Fifth with some tea and a game of pazaak or talking Bri through her flights of fancy and nightmares. Four didn't have time to do both. So she handed Bri the rifle and set her twin to gathering all the kolto packs back to the room where they were about to be surrounded by her father's enemies and they would ...

"Bri, look. Here's a blaster rifle. I know you're scared and we probably won't need to use it, but ..."

Bri took the rifle and checked the power packs and safety, "I'm a better shot."

"What?"

Bri said. "You've been the nicest to me. I appreciate it"

"Help me turn over this table. It's stone and it should provide good cover."

## The Fifth

"It's all your fault," The Fifth whispered to The Last. They knelt behind the cover of the heavy stone table, watching the only door into the room.

"Nikeli," Four scolded. "Not the time."

"You always take her side."

They ducked at the muffled sound of a grenade outside.

"We've never shot anyone, at least not with blaster rifles. It's not supposed to happen yet. Isn't the war over? I'm supposed to start my service next year ..."

Brianna touched her on the shoulder, and Nikeli felt the panic take a step back. Nikeli reached out to touch Four, passing the chain on.

"Battle sisters, like in the old Echani legends then," The Fifth said. "All we need is a faithful droid and a ship to take us to a different adventure."

"I don't think those holos are accurate."

"Let me have it, just this once."

## The Last

Brianna and Four shot the first one that came in the door. After that, everything became a mess. The first few who tried to enter the room were quickly cut down. The elder sisters stayed close by the door with double-bladed swords, the younger ones with blaster rifles from behind cover. Their only advantage was that that the sisters had hours of training together and the Revanchists did not.

And she felt raw and oversensitive. She felt the hatred of the rioters and assassins like a bad odor around them. She felt it through the walls. It was probably just an effect of the combat stims. Father would surely disapprove that she used one just as it was obvious that the assassins were about to charge into the room. Her hatred for the assassins made finding the shot easy, made them seem slow like sleepy dancers.

The second wave was slightly more organized. The Second sister took a stray shot to the arm, and was pulled behind cover by Four. Erisi survived with armor torn. Nikeli ducked just as a blaster shot scorched her scalp, her white hair charred black. There was another, longer pause in the fighting.

"Sisters Yusanis," a voice called out. "My master, Darth Malak, respects your display of strength, but you are outnumbered and no help is coming. Surrender, and no harm will come to you."

Brianna slid behind the table and knocked the back of her head against the cold stone. "He's lying."

"Yeah?" The Second said.

"Please ..." Brianna said. "Just this once trust me." The other sisters glanced at each other.

"No! We will not surrender." The First shouted.

"Do you count the child of Arren Kae among your number?"

Brianna's heart sank. Father had pulled them reluctantly together, but father was dead. She felt the fragile connections under her strain and groan.

"We are the daughters of General Yusanis! Our father died in an honorable duel! Any claims made against him died with him. As his descendants, we claim immunity from retribution. You have no rights here." The other sisters gaped at The First.

"Your quaint little rituals and rights. I can feel the one called Brianna through the Force. She doesn't really belong with you ..."

"Our father's final command was that we should stand together," the First said. "He died bearing our token."

"Yeah," The Fifth cried out. "This is a family party and you're not invited. Get lost!"

"You really should have listened to them," another voice said. It sounded soft but was understood clear through the walls. "The surviving family of Senator Yusanis is now under the protection of ... oh just run you idiots." Some of the mob made a last organized push to get into the room. Brianna felt others break off to attack the newcomers. One of the walls to the room exploded in on her. A man in cold and shining steel armor raised a sword of red fire, and stretched his fingers out to the three behind the table. Lighting crackled between his fingers.

He was cut down by a pale woman in white robes wielding a sword of yellow light. Brianna raised her rifle. "Who are you?"

The woman in white switched off her sword and bowed to the sisters. "Daughters of Yusanis, I am Jedi Master Atris, I'm here to rescue you."

## Atris

The escape was a close one. Atris wanted privacy, quiet, a space to meditate, but the cruiser was packed with political refugees. She was interrupted in an attempt at meditation by one of the Ysanis daughters, so much like her father in Republic officer's orange. "The second is awake," the Echani said.

"And?" Atris didn't rise from her meditation.

"We should talk." That was typical Echani, blunt and to the point. Instead of asking, they made statements and invited others to disagree.

"Yes, and it might as well be now."

The Echani woman nodded but did not salute. Atris wasn't really military but deserved respect. Her sisters were gathered and arguing in the briefing room. Nearly everyone fell silent and looked to the woman who led Atris to the meeting room. Five of them looked so much like the general, that Atris made a quick catalog of their manner, clothing, and habits. One still wore a medical gown. She stopped drying her long white hair with a towel and sat up waiting on Atris. The Republic corporal casually leaned against the wall from a position where she could watch the entire room.

The younger three were not yet old enough to follow their father into military service. The birth-twins sat comforting each other, one crying with shock. The sixth sat apart from the rest, and Atris barely controlled her reaction at seeing Arren Kae's face living again. The Last caught Atris's reaction, or sensed it because she was strong in the force. But, she was too old to train, and now it was even more important to follow rules for the protection of the Order.

"We'll never be able to go home!" the distraught twin wailed, too focused on her grief to notice the change in the room.

"Nikeli," the woman in the medical gown said. "Later."

Discipline kicked in and in a moment, all of the sisters were composed and watching Atris.

"She does have a point," the Corporal said. "The Revanchists and especially Malak are very thorough at eliminating people they see as threats."

"But the law gives us immunity from retribution," the more composed twin said.

"They're not Echani, and have little respect for our traditions," the officer said. "We're also at war, which creates another conflict. It falls to me to serve as guardian for the younger sisters, who are not yet of age." She reached up and pulled off her lieutenant insignia.

"Like hell you're taking that on alone," the Corporal said.

"Father put me in charge."

"He was a great general but a pretty bad father. I say we stick together."

"I've done my service."

"You're not the only one."

The argument spun out of control with the two sisters crossing the room. The woman in the medical gown tried to stand up, but fell back in her seat in obvious pain. The young twin started wailing again.

"Hold!" Atris shouted into the room. She gave the fighting sisters a gentle push to unbalance them before it came to blows. "I have a solution."

The room fell silent, and all eyes were watching Atris.

Atris explained, "The defections of Revan, Malak, Surik, and ... others, have revealed that the Jedi Order is vulnerable. In order to maintain continuity, I'm starting a new Jedi Academy, one that would be hidden from both the Revanchists and the Republic. While I can't promise absolute safety, I believe it could be a home for you."

"But, we're not Jedi," the woman with Kae's face spoke.

"Yes, but you successfully stood up to a Jedi and his followers, a man I helped train. You have your own bond, not of force but of family. I foresee the need for a group of watchers, people who are not affected by the force. I want to train people who can check the kind of schism that created Revan and Malak before it gets out of control."

"You want us to fight Jedi," the Corporal said.

"You already have," Atris said. "If Malak and Revan are going to hunt you, I feel it is only just that I give you safe haven and the skills to help defend yourself."

"We need time to discuss this, alone," the officer said.

Atris gauged the room. The older sisters were cautious, uncertain, but in search of direction. The younger ones were still in shock, but would come around. Kae's daughter might need some additional persuasion. "This cruiser will take us to Dantooine, after that you can make your own decisions." She left the sisters to discuss the issue, confident that she could begin training them soon.


End file.
